The detangling of hair is a daily problem experienced by many men and women. Detangling of hair is often a time-consuming and painful process for those who have their hair styled in plats, braids, dreadlocks or cornrows. For convenience, the term "plat" is used hereinafter to incorporate hair styled in braids, dreadlocks and cornrows.
The detangling of hair styled in plats is usually accomplished by using the fingers and a comb to slowly attempt to detangle the plat. However, a standard comb or brush is not suited to this purpose and most of the work must be done using the fingers. This is a slow and tedious process and often an attempt to use a comb or brush results in hair breakage, scalp irritation and pain.
While there are a variety of devices available for detangling hair, the vast majority of these devices are primarily intended for detangling straight hair which has been become tangled as a result of washing or styling. These devices are unsuited to the detangling of plats, given the dense, intertwined nature of the hair present in the plats. Ideally, devices used to detangle the hair should provide relatively rapid and pain-free detangling without damage to the scalp or hair. Accordingly, there is a need for a device which is specifically designed for the detangling of hair present in plats.
Previous attempts to design hair grooming devices suitable for detangling hair have often incorporated a pair of parallel combs reciprocating with respect to each other, which serve to detangle the hair as the comb is pulled through the hair. The prior art includes a variety of patents directed to devices which incorporate this parallel comb design U.S. Pat. No. 3,794,050 to Gallanis et al. is directed to a power driven comb for untangling which utilizes a pair of closely spaced comb members which are reciprocated in an out of phase relationship to create a wave motion in hair for the purpose of untangling it. The power-driven comb disclosed in Gallanis et al. is designed to untangle and comb hair without disrupting the curled or styled condition of the hair. U.S. Pat. No. 3,840,030 to Baker is directed to a detangling hair dryer comb wherein the rapid reciprocation of one comb with respect to a fixed straddling comb facilitates detangling of the hair while drying it. U.S. Pat. No. 3,850,180 to Ryckman, Jr. et al. is directed to a powered hair detangling device with a comb arrangement that provides rapid reciprocation of one comb with respect to a fixed straddling comb. This device may include means to dispense a fluid onto the combs and thus into the hair. U.S. Pat. No. 3,850,181 to Baker is directed to an improvement in the device described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,850,180 wherein the improvement is in the design of the movable comb means which reduces the load on the movable comb.
While the above-described patents are generally directed to detangling hair, none are designed for detangling hair which has been platted. In particular, none of these devices is suited to insertion into a plat for detangling of the individual plat as the comb is moved through the hair.
In View of the difficulty in detangling hair which has been platted and the unsuitability of the prior art devices, a need exists for a device that can untangle hair relatively painlessly without damaging the scalp or hair of the user.